2 Dead Children Found in Storage Unit in Northern California

Police officers in Northern California who were investigating a case of torture and abuse of a child this week found the bodies of two children inside a storage unit.

The Plumas County Sheriff’s office said in a statement on Tuesday that it was asked by the county Child Protective Services agency on Dec. 11 to conduct a welfare check on a 9-year old girl living in an apartment in Quincy, Calif.

It said two people, Gonzalo Curiel, 17, and Tami Joy Huntsman, 39, were arrested after the girl was found with “numerous injuries.” They each were being held on torture, mayhem and child abuse charges with bail set at $1 million.

As officers looked for possible additional victims, the case turned into a homicide investigation when they discovered the bodies of two children in a storage unit in Redding, about 100 miles away. An autopsy is pending, a Redding police statement said.

There was no immediate information about any charges related to the deceased children.

The police gave no details about the relationship between the suspects. The Redding police said that both suspects were recent residents of Salinas, Calif., and that it was working with the Salinas Police Department and the Sheriff’s office on the case.

KSBW, a local television news station, reported that the police on Monday night searched an apartment in Salinas where Ms. Huntsman, a relative of the victims, had lived with them. It said the three children were siblings, although the police have not confirmed that.

KSBW also reported that the two dead children were 3 and 5 years old. It said the abused girl was in the hospital “fighting for her life” after surgery.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A26 of the New York edition with the headline: National Briefing |West; California: 2 Children Found Dead. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe